amenity horticulture 2

Learn to Manage Gardens

Who manages amenity horticulture sites? These days many different professions are involved in the management of natural and designed landscapes, including architects, town planners, engineers, landscape architects, environmental scientists, sport and recreation specialists, botanists, biologists, horticulturists and agronomists. Depending on the size and nature of the site, and the inputs required to manage that site, people from these (and possibly other) professions might be employed as specialist consultants, as site managers or as team leaders.

The management of a horticultural site typically includes the following tasks:

Defining a mission, vision, goals and activities planning

Ensuring that the above are reached or planned within a specified timeframe

Managing budgets

Managing human resources

Managing material resources

Managing natural resources

What that means is that the manager must define where the organisation is going or, if that is already defined, how to get there with the resources available, in the time available. This usually means looking for more resources and solving problems related to the running of the amenity site together with the team that he or she is leading.

Ensuring that the above are reached or planned within a specified timeframe

Managing budgets

Managing human resources

Managing material resources

Managing natural resources

Management options

Amenity sites; horticultural displays

Management framework

Types of organisational structures

Chains of command

Macro Panning for Amenity Land Provision

Macro planning introduction

What to plan for

Principles of neighbourhood planning

What is a community

Principles of leisure facility planning, including sports grounds

Resources and Information

Information sources

PBL project to create and present a report that identifies, describes and uses up-to-date information sources relating to changing influences on the amenity industry

Social, Cultural and Environmental Impacts

Introduction

Comparing positive and negative aspects of different factors

Examples of environmentally driven management decisions

Cultural, social and environmental issues

Economic Impacts

Financing amenity horticulture sites

What are we funding

Funding sources

Funding amounts

Human resource management

Volunteer management

Material resources management

Community Involvement

Amenity horticulture and the community

Where might you find community participation

Community needs or wants: not always the same

What motivates community involvement

Community participation to develop parks and playgrounds

Developing a Management Plan

PBL project to create and present a management plan for an amenity horticulture site.

Components of a management plan

What to do to make those plans come true

Staff morale and enthusiasm

Involving the community so that they take responsibility

Solving the budget problem without cutting on services

Each lesson ends with assignments to test your knowledge and reinforce your learning; these are sent to your tutor at the Garden Design Academy for marking and comments.

You will be working with Colin Elliott, ex Royal Gardener and an experienced professional horticulturist, landscaper and garden designer. This course will help graduates develop knowledge of the industry at both a global and local level. You will become familiar with responsible environmental management strategies of natural and created landscapes.